Misinformation can needlessly give rise to fear, stigma, and
unsafe practices. Despite HIV’s presence as a major public health concern for
the past 3 ½ decades, there are still many prevailing myths and questions
surrounding it. This has led to false information being proliferated, and has
undermined the public’s ability to gain a deeper, accurate understanding of the
virus. To combat confusion, we will address some of the most common myths
surrounding HIV/AIDS in our
“Myth
v. Truth”
blog series…

Myth: AIDS is only a problem in Africa

Truth: The HIV/AIDS pandemic spans the entire world

To many people in the Western world, the “face of AIDS” may be that of a young woman
in sub-Saharan Africa, removed from anything that looks familiar to them. It is true that approximately 70% of all those living
with HIV today are in sub-Saharan Africa. Women account for more than half of
that number, and adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa are nearly three times
more likely to be newly infected with HIV than boys in the same age group (15
to 19 years).

However, the diversity of people infected with HIV around the
globe cannot be so succinctly stated. Though African nations do have the
greatest prevalence rate of people living with HIV, one must also consider that
there are people living with HIV throughout the whole world. In fact, using
data collected by the World Health Organization, by combing the total number of
people living with HIV in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean, and
Western Pacific, there are over 11.1 million people living with HIV who do not
live in Sub-Saharan Africa (WHO 2015).

HIV is truly a pandemic as its spread is not bound by political
or geographical borders. Its effects have reached men, women, and children in
Africa and beyond. Throughout the years, the virus has broken families, created
orphans, and stripped life from millions of people. However, there is hope.
Incredible strides have been made throughout the world to halt the transmission
of HIV and to get to zero new infections, zero children born with HIV, zero
children orphaned by HIV, and zero stigma. (To learn more about the global
impact of HIV/AIDS, please visit the World Health Organization’s website at
http://www.who.int/hiv/en/).

This is why the local church has a role to play in ending AIDS
all over the world. With the widest geographic distribution, the largest
participation, the fastest proliferation, and highest motivation for serving
the sick, the Church can help provide compassion, community and real solutions on
a scale no other organization can replicate. To learn more about the role of
the church, check out this video, or contact us at
HIV@saddleback.com :